Leh-Ladakh Trip Day 4 & 5

Kargil is at a height of approx. 2600 meters above sea level and hence the weather here was pleasant. Neither too cold nor warm. After a leisurely breakfast in the morning we went for a long drive to Suru valley. This meant a drive northward from our hotel along the Suru river. The land was green and a pleasure to the eyes. We passed a few small villages along the way as well as a hydro power generation station. 

There is nothing in particular to write about Suru valley except that it is a fertile land with fair amount of cultivation along the way. We could see small orchards as well as small fields. We could also see some people using small oar boats to perhaps cross the river or do some fishing. Children walking to school or playing near the roads was another sight. After driving some distance, we stopped at a place to take some pictures. After that we crossed a bridge over the Suru river and went around a village on the other side.

After spending some time thus, we returned to our hotel for lunch. In the evening we hired some local taxis to take us to the Hundarman village which is close the the LOC with Pakistan. We used the telescope there to sight our army stationed at various place on the mountains. We also saw the border where our army personnel were camping within a short distance from the Pakistani army. We also saw bunkers on both sides as well as small shrines used by the army on each side.

After spending some time here we returned to our hotel. A couple of us took a walk around Kargil town to do window shopping and get a flavour of the place. We were surprised to see people closing shops by 7 p.m. even though there was plenty of light. We went to a pure vegetarian restaurant / dhaba and were informed that they are about to close shop. We realised that people retire early here as they have to attend their evening prayers. We returned to our hotel, had dinner and also hit the bed.

One our our tour members (Lakshmi) was still feeling unwell and the hotel people kindly helped in getting a doctor to examine her and even arranged for a visit to a local hospital. The doctor made more that one visit and did not accept any payment for her services. She said you are our guest and it is our duty to take care of you. This was a very impressive gesture on their part.

The next day, Day 5, we checked out of the hotel after our breakfast and drove to Drass War Memorial. I can say that this was one of the highlights of our trip. The war memorial is maintained by the army to commemorate the bravery and the sacrifice of our soldiers during the Pakistani aggression in 1999. We went around the memorial and had goosebumps hearing the tales of valour displayed by our bravehearts. We saw the guns on display, including the famous Bofors guns, which were used to pound the enemy positions on the top the mountains. We were told that many of the mountains were reduced in height due the pounding. We also saw the Tiger Hill in the distance that was captured by a daring act of our troops.

We saw the busts of the soldiers who were awarded the highest awards for their bravery and courage. One of them was Captain Vikram Batra whose twin brother is an ex-colleague of mine. We also went inside the display hall which contained various articles captured from the enemy, the last letters of our soldiers to their family, the stories of the carious battles fought and won over the years etc. Later we also went to the place where the tombstones of some of our Martyrs are kept. We also saw an audio visual of the entire operation narrated by Amitabh Bacchan in his inimitable baritone voice. To say that this kindled a strong sense of patriotism in all of us would be an understatement. We realised the true nature of the sacrifice of our armed forces and our respect to them became stronger after this visit.

After this, we drove towards our next destination which was the Uley. We arrived late in the evening at our resort. It was very chilly at that time. We had to quickly wear our sweaters to cope with this. After some freshening up, we went for a fabulous dinner where we were treated like Royalty. The resort people took great care to cater to our varied requirement. More about the property and the locale in my next blog...

Leh-Ladhak trip Day 3

On Day 3 of our trip, we got ready by 8 a.m. with our bags all packed for the onward journey. Our last meal at the Angkasa Ladakh Resort, Leh was our breakfast. Our vehicles had come by 9 a.m. and after saying our goodbyes to the hotel staff, taking final pictures and  loading our bags into the cars, we were on our way.

Our first halt was at a Gurudwara called Pathar Sahib. Guru Nanak had come here and had converted a demonic man who used to harass the local populace by using a gentle & compassionate approach. The man tried to crush Guru Nanak with a large rocs by sliding it down from a hillock when He was meditating below. The rock became soft on touching the Guru and did not harm Him. Seeing this, the man realised that this was a great soul and sought His forgiveness. Guru Nanak instructed him to be kind and serve the people instead of harming them. The man became a gentle soul after that.

This Gurudwara is maintained by the army folks and is on the main NH1 highway. We went inside and listened to the Gurbani bhajan for some time. Then we came out and had a cup of delicious tea that was being served at that time. After some customary pics, we boarded our cars for the next leg of the journey.

Along the way, we stopped at a place which is famous as the magnetic hill. Here, at a particular spot on flat land, the vehicles automatically move forward even though the engine is switched off. It is believed that this is due to magnetic force of a hill on the opposite side. We experienced this first-hand but didn't wait much here. Further down the road, we came to the confluence / sangam of the Sindhu & Zanskar rivers. It was a beautiful spot. Almost everyone tends to stop here and enjoy the lovely scenery. We too got off our cars and took many pictures. It seems that rafting is allowed here during the months of July / August when the rivers have more water flow.

Driving down further, we came across a lovely carving of the Maitreya Buddha on a small rock along the roadside. An inscription here said that this was carved on the first century BC and that this Buddha was the successor of Gautam Buddha. Maitreya Buddha means one who shows kindness to all fellow creatures.

Along the way, we came across the beautiful Alchi Gompa monastery situated at a high altitude along the road. However, we did not go inside as we were hungry and there were no pure vegetarian hotels nearby. After driving some distance, we stopped near a roadside restaurant and ate some of the snacks that we were carrying. It was cold and the winds made it even more chilly. After a short halt, we proceeded and finally reached Kargil by evening time.

Kargil is the second largest town of Ladakh situated at a height of approx. 8000 feet above sea level. It is also the second capital of Ladakh. With a population of approx 1.7 lakhs (mainly Muslims), it is sitting on the banks of the Suru river. We checked into The Kargil hotel in the heart of the town, surrounded by residential houses on all sides. The rooms were nice here even though the location was not. We freshened up and went for a short walk around the town. It was congested and not well maintained. We came back after some time for dinner at the hotel. Dinner was good. There was a South Indian chef called Raju Nair who went out of the way to make us feel comfortable.

After dinner, it was time to hit the bed as we were exhausted and tired after a hectic day of travel and had to catch up on sleep.